After rumours emerged on Friday evening that Juan Mata was set to miss the remainder of the season, the club released a statement at 9.45pm to confirm the player had undergone groin surgery.

Depending on the extent of the injury, recovery from surgery on the groin can take up to three months, meaning Mata wouldn’t play again for the rest of this season.

This season, Mata has enjoyed the most successful passing accuracy of anyone in the squad, with 90.4%. This passing completion sees him above all the creative midfielders in the league.

Only Zlata Ibrahimovic has scored more league goals for United than him this season and only Paul Pogba makes more key passes per game.

With us still in the thick of a battle to finish in the top four, the absence of Mata, when we’re already struggling to score goals, is a massive blow. It’s now time for the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to step up to the plate.